IGLTA Through our long-time partnership with Meet Minneapolis, the 13th Annual LGBT Party held in conjunction with the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition raised more than $8,000 for the IGLTA Foundation, which included a $3,500 donation from Meet Minneapolis, Delta Air Lines, Hilton Minneapolis and Visit Salt Lake. The three-hour reception at Metro Bar on 15 August in Salt Lake City attracted approximately 250 association professionals. Funds raised at the event support a scholarship program for the next generation of LGBT tourism professionals, marketing assistance for small gay-friendly businesses in emerging destinations that lack governmental support or LGBT infrastructure, and global research to further understanding of LGBT travel.

IGLTA Please join members of IGLTA, the Palm Springs, California tourism and media community and NGLCC conference attendees at a networking reception on 22 August from 4-6 p.m. to benefit the IGLTA Foundation. The event is scheduled in conjunction with the NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference. Refreshments provided by the host venue, the Hyatt Palm Springs. Suggested donation: US$35. RSVP here.READ MORE

IGLTA IGLTA is currently partnering with blogger member Two Bad Tourists to promote a consumer giveaway on United Airlines. The winner will receive two tickets on United between the United States and Europe (travel valid either direction). For complete details and to register before the 24 August deadline, please visit iglta.org.READ MORE

IGLTAPlease join us in supporting the small business members of our association, who are dedicated to providing LGBT-welcoming experiences around the globe. These members include Remote Lands, a VIrtuoso-preferred supplier that provides highly customized holidays in Asia for experienced, discerning travelers; and Wedding in Italy, a company with a multinational LGBT team who will create a romantic, symbolic ceremony for same-sex couples in Italy's most stunning locales.READ MORE

Chicago Tribune The rugby venue was nearly empty recently as Brazil's women's match was ending.
That was when Olympic staffer Marjorie Enya decided to make her move. She found her girlfriend, Brazilian rugby player Isadora Cerullo and popped the question. Girlfriends became fiancees.
Then two days later, Brazilian judo star Rafaela Silva came out on national TV here after winning a gold medal in these Olympics.READ MORE

The AdvocateIn a long-awaited decision, Belize's Supreme Court struck down a colonial-era antisodomy law, saying it violates constitutional rights to dignity, privacy, equality, and freedom from gender discrimination.
The decision came three years and three months after the case was heard, and six years after it was filed. It strikes down Section 53 of Belize's Criminal Code, which banned "carnal intercourse against the order of nature," therefore primarily targeting gay and bisexual men. READ MORE

TTG MediaCarol Hay, the Caribbean Tourism Organization's director of marketing for the U.K. and Europe, told delegates that while homosexuality was still illegal in some countries, attitudes were gradually changing.
She admitted that the laws in some islands prevented tourist boards from actively promoting to the LGBT sector, but insisted this did not mean LGBT holidaymakers would not be welcomed.READ MORE

TIMEAgustine and her activist colleagues at Indonesia's Ardhanari Foundation, which campaigns for LGBT rights, have become very cautious recently. They used to go in and out their office in Jakarta without attracting much attention from their neighbors. "But now people are paying attention," Agustine tells TIME. "Sometimes asking why some of our staff members [look like] tomboys."READ MORE

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Gibraltar ChronicleThe Equality Rights Group has welcomed news that the Government will present a Bill in Parliament to amend the civil marriage Act to allow for civil marriage between couples of the same sex.
"Now it's up to Parliament," the Group said in a statement.
ERG Chairman, Felix Alvarez, said: "Through this, Gibraltar understands that "separate but equal" approaches to people's options and status in life are not the best way to personal sovereignty, individual self-determination, integration and social stability."READ MORE

The Huffington Post This weekend marks 12 years since the Howard Government, with the support of the Labor Opposition, amended the Marriage Act to legislate the exclusion of same-sex couples from the celebration of marriage.
This was done in response to Australians getting married overseas in a number of European countries, Canada, and a handful of American states that had embraced marriage equality. READ MORE

The New York Times Two years ago, 16-year-old Sergio Urrego jumped to his death from a shopping center in Bogotá, Colombia, leaving as his suicide note a Facebook post quoting Pink Floyd's "Goodbye Cruel World." His death was the genesis of a controversy that roiled Colombia this week, as the effort to expand L.G.B.T. rights was drawn into a broader political fight that has polarized the nation. READ MORE

The Associated Press via ABC News Mississippi's law on religious objections to same-sex marriage will remain blocked while the governor appeals a judge's ruling that the law is unconstitutional.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said recently that it would not immediately remove the block that U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves put on House Bill 1523 moments before it was to become law 1 July .
The Republican-led Legislature passed the bill this year in response to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage nationwide.READ MORE

IOL Cape Town has been ranked among the world's top five "surprisingly friendly" lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) travel destinations.
In a newly released survey conducted by SCRUFF, one of the leading gay dating apps, with 10 million members worldwide, in conjunction with The New York Times, has ranked the city fifth in its "off the beaten path" or "surprisingly gay-friendly" travel destination.READ MORE

Los Angeles Times Marriott International Inc.'s proposed $13.6-billion purchase of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has hit a snag: China.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based hospitality giant said recently that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce needs up to 60 additional days to review the company's purchase of Starwood, a deal that would create the world's largest hotel company.READ MORE